Jamie Oliver: jolly green giant

Jamie Oliver's top tips for getting kids to ditch the chicken nuggets

Friday 29 August 2014 10:39 BST

What was the most disgusting school meal you remember eating?

Spam fritters. They were cheap, old bargain-barrel stuff, but strangely many boys’ favourite. One kid used to steal them and put them in his blazer pocket, along with the remnants of all sorts of DNA and fluff and hair and old fingernails, and eat them later.

What was your favourite thing to eat at school?

It’s a toss-up between chocolate steamed pudding and toad in the hole, which in those days was still made with sausages supplied by a local butcher, brilliant Yorkshire pudding and delectably average gravy.

Was there anything you didn’t like to eat when you were younger?

Liver. Mum was a great cook but she cooked the hell out of liver. Quickly seared liver that’s blushing in the middle is silky, delicious and mildly flavoured. The minute you overcook it, it just gets tough, miserable, grey and livery.

What did your parents do to encourage you to eat your greens?

They didn’t. I honestly don’t remember my mum or dad saying ‘Go on’. Mum just made it taste good. If you quickly boil greens instead of cooking the life out of them and toss them in butter with a pinch of salt and squeeze of lemon, they’re delicious.

Your child asks for a can of Coke. What do you say?

I say no. My kids have never drunk Coke, ever. And by the way, I love Coke, it’s a delicious drink. But for me it’s something to have on a beach, or up a mountain when I’ve been skiing, or if I feel a bit poorly. But it ain’t no regular part of our diet.

What if a child simply refuses to eat something you put in front of them?

One tactic is: ‘No dessert or treats if you don’t eat it,’ which I stick to, damn right. I don’t give in to any snacking if they don’t eat their dinner. It sounds harsh but I just don’t feed them. If they’re hungry, they’ll eat.

What’s the best healthy snack for kids to take to school?

My wife is like a ninja with regard to healthy food. She makes little tied-up bags of snacks for our children – often it’s cut-up fruit with a bit of lime juice to stop it going brown, or dried fruit, nuts, and simple biscuits.

What’s the biggest enemy when it comes to junk food?

High fructose corn syrup, additives that aren’t good for you, and mystery meat. Technically there’s nothing wrong with a burger or a kebab but having some standards really goes a long way. In my new book I’ve done a recipe for a ridiculously good burger. Nobody has to eat crappy junk food.

If your kids ask ‘Where’s its head?’ when you’re giving them chicken, what do you say?

We have chickens and geese and turkeys and they all get eaten and the children know they get eaten. They have asked why and we just say that we have the animals to eat them. I think we get the balance right. We’re very honest; we don’t cut the meat up into funny shapes.

Was there anything you didn’t like to eat when you were younger?

Liver. Mum was a great cook but she cooked the hell out of liver. Quickly seared liver that’s blushing in the middle is silky, delicious and mildly flavoured. The minute you overcook it, it just gets tough, miserable, grey and livery.

Have you ever had to lie to your children?

Regularly. Ultimately the goal is to get them to accept and love things on their own merit, but sometimes the strategy to get there involves you lying, making invisible, covering up. My kids have gone in and out of love with things like squash and onions so when I’ve whizzed those things into a pasta sauce I’ll just say: ‘There’s none in there.’ I do like to be honest with them, but if that doesn’t work a bit of underhandedness is sometimes required.

Has enough progress been made with school meals since your 2005 show?

Amazing progress has been made. Every school has improved – over 50 per cent are doing well, while 45 per cent are struggling. It was worth everything. We’ve now got a trajectory and a commitment from the government and we’re doing really well. [Former Education Secretary] Michael Gove stopped it and then started it up again, but my job isn’t to hold grudges and I’m not in charge. I think the Free School plan is great – the Leon boys over-delivered [Henry Dimbleby and John Vincent, founders of the Leon restaurant chain, were commissioned to write a School Food Plan, published last year] and put back everything that I fought for and then some, which is great. Before he changed jobs Mr Gove was supporting those initiatives, so that as of next month, not only is cooking in schools compulsory, but the standards around school food have a light shone on them. Hopefully it will then be easier to get more investment in school kitchens to support the cooks better and love them more, and with that will come bigger numbers and better food. A well-run food service in a comprehensive school has the capacity to make money and even contribute back to the school, so if it’s done right, it can be fantastic.

Would you do a kids’ cook book?

I’d love to, although I don’t really see any difference between kids’ food and the food in my cookbooks – I don’t want kids eating versions of strange baby food and I’m not into making faces out of food for the sake of kids. I’m more excited about doing a kids’ TV programme, because you can be expressive and fun but my broadcaster, Channel 4, doesn’t do [programming] for kids, so I’m going to try to address the kids’ cookery show issue on You Tube.

What’s the most delicious thing your kids have baked or cooked for you?

A Hummingbird Cake. Jools made it with Daisy the other day and Daisy won a cake-baking competition with it. It was Jamaican and American in origin with bananas and pineapple – it had that New Orleans vibe with African and Portuguese influence. I’d like to think they made it for me, but they probably made it for them. That’s what happens when you’re a dad – a lot of things are done for you that aren’t really done for you.

What would you say if one of your daughters was flicking peas?

I’d probably try not to laugh, but I would correct them. I hate bad table manners. It really annoys me the way some people grip knives and forks in such weird murderer-like ways. Not that I’m posh, but I do think the basics are important. We teach our kids how to hold their cutlery and to line it up in the middle of the plate when they’re finished.

Do you and Jools ever play good cop, bad cop with the kids at dinner time?

Jools is very patient. She plays games with the kids with food and knows how to maintain a crazy child’s happiness. I’m much more ‘Eat it or you’re going to your room.’ I’m a stern, serious briber with regard to activities, like ‘Eat it or we’re not doing this or that’. Jools is much nicer and a much better parent.

And finally... is there any way to make Brussels sprouts taste nice?

Worcestershire Sauce. I love to attach the thin slicer on the food processor, whack half a kilo of sprouts in and shred them up nicely. Get a wok hot, then heat a little bit of oil and a knob of butter and wok-fry the sprouts so they’re not under- or overcooked, then put at least eight tablespoons of Worcestershire Sauce in and shake the pan and wok-fry til the sauce cooks away. That with a steak or on their own: gorgeous.